The European Commission launched a plan today to slash the cost of using mobile phones abroad by as much as 70 per cent, targeting excessive prices and giving operators a last chance to regulate themselves.
"Our analysis shows that very high international mobile roaming charges currently affect at least 147 million European Union citizens," Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.
"We have no alternative but to intervene to protect the interest of consumers. This intervention tackles excessive prices ... not justified by the market condition," he told a news conference.
The Commission proposal aimed to cut the cost of using a mobile phone abroad by up to 70 percent, he said.
Mobile phone companies will be given a grace period of six months to introduce caps on retail tariffs for calls made abroad.
The European Union's 25 member states and the European Parliament will have the final say on the caps on "roaming" prices, or the extra charge levied by operators for using a mobile phone outside a home country in the bloc.
The draft rules have been cheered by consumer organisations for tackling a bane of travellers, but slammed by operators who say domestic users will face price hikes.
"We will give operators a final chance to show that they are serious about self-regulation. If they are, the regulation will have no practical effect as such," Barroso said. "I expect operators to voluntarily lower prices to acceptable levels."
After lengthy discussion, with opposition from Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in particular, the EU executive agreed to propose a cap on wholesale prices, or the fees operators charge each other for handling calls